Nesarian Constitution
Nesarian Constitution The constitution of Nesaria is uncodified and therefore not always entirely clear. It is made up of many different documents and Acts of Parliament, the most important of which are laid out below. Nesaria is famous for still using ancient laws written thousands of years ago, as is the whole Empire. Declaration of Manumission 600BC Created by King Mathados the Founder, this is the oldest legal document still in use by Nesaria, and the oldest in the world still in use. It explicitly prohibits slavery and condemns slave-owners to death. As well as having a moral aspect, this also allowed the Kingdom of Ascaria to execute and then seize the property of foreign slave-owners in the lands the Kingdom conquered, and secure the loyalty of freed slaves. Charter of Liberties 103BC Created under the Republic of Nesaria, the Charter of Liberties outlines some of the basic rights and liberties of citizens. The Charter of Liberties was made largely obsolete by the Declaration of Rights 50BC but is still sometimes referred to. The Charter of Liberties was fairly vague, and the practices it put into law were already largely carried out. Amongst other things, it prohibited citizens being imprisoned without a fair trial (although non-citizens could still be imprisoned without trial), prohibited wage slavery and guaranteed freedom of religion. Declaration of Rights 50BC Created by Emperor Mathados IV, the Declaration of Rights was the first fully comprehensive document outlining the basic rights and liberties of citizens. Amongst other things, it prohibited all people (not just citizens) from being imprisoned without a fair trial, guaranteed freedom of speech and guaranteed the right to bear arms both for personal safety and for defence against a tyrannical government. It also declared that everyone should be treated equally under law regardless of race, ethnicity or religion. This last point won the loyalty of the previously disillusioned Orcs. Citizenship Act 77 + 801 The Citizenship Act was first created in 77 by Emperor Athdus III. It opened up the citizenship to all inhabitants of Nesaria and laid out the rules for gaining citizenship - a married man could earn citizenship for himself and his family by serving for at least fifteen years in the army, or a married man and his family could be granted citizenship for an exceptional act of bravery and loyalty. The Citizenship Act was amended in 801 by Empress Avemirea III, who expanded the citizenship to all inhabitants of the Empire and also created "sub-citizenships" for the different countries within the Empire, and set out the migration rules within the Empire and immigration from external sources, adding a clause that a family which had lived in the Empire for at least thirty years was eligible for citizenship. This is considered the first immigration law in history, and still forms the basis of citizenship and immigration law. Human Rights Act 1799 Created by the Nesarian Parliament and passed into law by Emperor Jacras I, the Human Rights Act fully laid out the rights and liberties of citizens. Amongst other things, it prohibited torture, further guaranteed the right to free speech and the right to bear arms, and also included the "right to revolution", legally allowing citizens to rise up against a tyrannical government. After the Nesarian Civil War, this was amended so that citizens could not legally overthrow the monarchy, but could rise up against a tyrannical monarch to replace him/her with another monarch. The only monarch to use this "right to revolution" was Emperor Adrion I when he overthrew Emperor Faltas V.